


A Talk, Long Overdue

by katofthenorth



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: The Windrunners deserve better, famlies can be hard, the windrunners just need hugs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2019-08-27 10:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16700743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katofthenorth/pseuds/katofthenorth
Summary: Alleria Windrunner returns to Azeroth to find her home gone and her family shattered. Trying to salvage what she can of the life she knew, she has a little talk with her sisters.





	1. Little Moon

**Author's Note:**

> "Impossible! I refuse to believe she now leads the Horde. Not after all they did to our people during the war."  
> "There is more. I'm... I'm not sure how to explain the rest. Or if this is even the time or place to--"  
> "I must know, Vereesa. What fate befell our sister?"

Vereesa had been dodging Alleria’s questions the entire time they were aboard the Vindicar. Too many people around for such a private matter, a battle that they needed to focus on, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind. They were all very good excuses, but Alleria still found it endlessly frustrating. Sylvanas was her sister too, she had the right to know what had happened.

And then, the fighting was over. Sargaras was left behind to be finished by Illadin and Alleria was finally going home. It was an odd thought, Home. It had been so long since she had had a home. But she managed to push those thoughts aside to deal with later and she walked over to her youngest sister. “Vereesa,” she started.

“Soon,” Vereesa replied, giving her a small half smile, “once we get to Dalaran, I promise you I will tell you everything.”

Alleria had no choice but to accept it and wait. Soon enough, Alleria found herself walking down the streets of Dalaran. The sun was too bright and she could feel herself starting to burn but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“It’s this one, Alleria,” Vereesa caught her arm as she continued to walk, turning her sister towards the door and ushering her inside. “Welcome home,” she said as she walked inside, “I’m sorry about the mess,” she murmured as she made her way towards the kitchen. “Make yourself comfortable,” Vereesa called over her shoulder.

Nodding, Alleria did just that. She made her way further into her sisters home, scanning over the objects that could tell the story of her life. A piece of jade carved into a strider, an elegantly crafted bottle of wine, the shattered remnants of a mage's staff hung above the fireplace in the living room.

Other things too that Alleria couldn’t quite make sense of. A stuffed elek in the corner, a pair of toy swords poking out from under the couch. Alleria tilted her head as she picked up a book of basic magic, “getting into magecraft, Vereesa?”

Baring two cups of tea, Vereesa entered the living room, “me? Oh no, that’s my sons,” she handed Alleria a cup and sat down.

Alleria almost dropped the cup, “your sons?” She sat heavily on the couch, setting the cup down, “I missed the birth of my baby sisters child.” She was horrified.

“Children,” Vereesa corrected quietly, a small smile playing over her lips, “twins.” She took a small sip of her tea, “I sent them to stay in Stormwind as soon as Khadgar announced that the city would be moving. I didn’t want to risk losing them too.”

“Too? Who else?” Alleria pressed.

“My husband,” Vereesa whispered, her throat tight. “Taken from me by the Horde,” she practically snarled that.

Alleria reached out and gently squeezed Vereesa’s arm, “I’m so sorry.” Her words sounded forced. She was uncomfortable. Alleria had no idea of how to console her baby sister, last time she had seen her she had practically been a child, and now she was a widowed mother and a ranger-general.

Vereesa forced herself into a state of meager calm as she placed her hand over Alleria’s. She frowned, “but I also lost all three of you so quickly.”

Alleria blinked in confusion, sitting back to look at her sister fully. “All three of us? What do you mean? Me and Lireth,” she looked away a moment, “but, that's only two.”

“I lost Sylvanas not long after,” Vereesa swallowed hard.

“When she joined the Horde,” Alleria growled, clenching her fists tightly.

“When she died,” Vereesa corrected quietly.

“But she’s--”

“Leading the Horde,” Vereesa nodded, “she is. Or… what's left of her.”

“That doesn't make any sense, Vereesa,” Alleria shook her head. “How can she lead the Horde is she’s dead?” She sat up straighter, the whispers of the Void clawing at the back of her mind. ‘A monster. A savage shade. It will come for you. It will kill you.’ She squeezed her eyes tightly as she forced them back before turning her gaze to her sister, “Vereesa, what happened to her?”

Vereesa wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against Alleria, melting comfortably into her side when she felt her sisters arm wrap around her shoulder. “What always happens? War took another sister from me. The prince of Lordaeron fell down a dark path, he took control of an army of undead and cut a path through the Eastern Kingdoms.” Her jaw clenched, “he attacked Quel’Thalas. I was living in Dalaran with Rhonin, we had just gotten married and with our people no longer allied with the humans, I couldn't keep him there with me.” She found herself smiling, “Sylvanas blessed the marriage herself. She was so happy for me, for the future I was forging for myself. I didn't see her much after, being Ranger-General kept her busy, distant. And then the war started, and I never saw her again.

“She died for our people, for our home and it was for nothing,” Vereesa let out a sigh, “she and her rangers fell at the walls of Silvermoon. When word got to us I was rushed out of Dalaran, sent south. We were told that she died valiantly, that her body had been burnt in the fires that the Scrouge set across the city.”

“But she didn't.” Alleria’s arm tightened around her.

“No,” Vereesa confirmed, “no, she didn't, but for years I believed that she had.I’d heard rumors over the years, that an undead elf had taken over Lordaeron, that they were leading a new army of undead for the Horde. That she was doing horrible things for them. Massacres and raisings, invading Gilneas. I’d heard whispers of her name, but, I didn't believe it. Not until I finally saw her a few years ago.”

Pulling herself away, Vereesa stood and began pacing, “she was terrifying to behold, but, she was there. Alive enough in the sense that I could see her, reach out to her and I clung to that.” She fingered the necklace around her neck, “so that's what I did, I reached out to her for support. But she was different, changed. Cold, so cold in every sense of the word, Alleria. We didn't talk much, just planned.” Vereesa looked down, unable to look her eldest sister in the eyes, “we planned the murder of the Hordes old Warchief. We were going to kill him. I wanted to kill him! Make him pay for everything he had taken from me!” She was shaking now, trembling from the residual rage that still swirled in her mind, “I wanted him to suffer as I had and Sylvanas promised to help me do that. We got so close, it was like having her back again.” she smiled ruefully, “she said I could rule alongside her, we would be unstoppable.” Vereesa glanced at Alleria then, running her finger along the wedding band she still wore, “I was going to do it. I technically did. I poisoned that monsters food and all I had to do was keep quiet. But… I couldn't do it. I couldn't go through with it. I told the prince,” she laughed, “king now, Belore, that's still odd to say, and he spared his life.” Vereesa let her hands fall to her side, “I wrote her a letter, telling her that I couldn’t do it and that I wouldn't be joining her. I couldn’t even tell her to her face, I was… scared of how she would react. I haven't seen her since. I,” she drew a deep breath, “I don't even know if I want to. She betrayed us all at the Broken Isles, abandoned the Alliance to be slaughtered, now she’s leading them.” Vereesa picked up her now cold cup of tea and chugged it for lack of anything better to do.

Alleria stared at her hands, her mind reeling, “why did she do?”

Vereesa blinked, “do what?”

“Join the Horde,” Alleria clarified.

“I never asked,” Vereesas ears drooped with guilt, “I was so caught up in my own pain that I didn't think much to ask about hers. Death changed her, Alleria. She looks like her, sounds like her, even has her memories, but this Sylvanas that now leads the Horde is not the same woman who was our sister.”

Alleria rose from her seat and pulled Vereesa into a tight embrace. “Thank you for telling me, Little Moon,” she thought the old nickname would feel odd on her tongue but it came out as naturally as it had before she left. Taking a step back, Alleria brushed tears from her baby sisters face, “all your boys back home. I look forward to meeting them when I get back.”

Shock crossed Vereesa’s face and she clung tightly to Alleria, “I just got you back,” she whimpered.

Alleria chuckled, “I’ll be back. I promise it won't take me twenty years this time.” With a small struggle, she managed to free herself from Vereesa hold and put some distance between them, “but there is something I need to do,” shadows swirled over her hand as she tore open a rift to the Void.

“Where are you going?” Vereesa’s voice was slightly panicked as she covered her ears in an attempt to block out the hushed whispers that emanated from the rift.

“I am going to pay this new Warchief a visit,” Alleria’s face darkened as she slipped into the Void, “and maybe beat some sense into her.”

 


	2. Lady Moon

Alleria had been to Lordaeron more times than she could count. She had seen the kingdom rise to its full power and had frequented it's capital and villages often. She knew its forests almost as well as she knew those of Quel’Thalas. It had been almost like a home away from home for the eldest Windrunner and she held it fondly in her memories.

The forest that greeted Alleria when she stepped out of the Void, however, was far different from the one she remembered. The trees, once lush and vibrant, were gnarled and twisted. A sickly mist drifted amongst the trunks, emitting an eerie glow. It clung to Alleria, sticking to her like a layer of invisible filth that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t wipe away.

It felt wrong.

Everything about the forest just felt wrong. Even the air was thick and heavy with something that Alleria couldn’t even begin to name. Quite the feat, given that she had faced the unnameable creatures of the Void.

The Void which she now felt a pull towards. It didn’t want her to be here as much as she didn’t want to be. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that, being in agreeance with the Void. In the end, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t leaving. Not until she had seen what had become of her sister for herself. Heard her words. Even if the Whispers were making more sense than they ever had.

_ ‘The end all Azeroth stalks these trees. Her dagger above the heart of the world. She will kill all.’ _

Alleria grit her teeth against their words and pressed onwards. If the rumors she had heard were to be believed, than the Void, for once, spoke the plain truth. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. That the Void would speak so plainly about her sister, simple as the Whispers were, spoke volumes as to what she had become.

“RAWK!”

The cry of a raven pulled Alleria from her thoughts. She swung her head around. Searching out that creature that managed to live in this dreadful place. When she spotted it, she quickly realized that ‘live’ was the wrong word.

The poor creature was half rotted, it’s wings held on by mere threads of tendons. It stared at Alleria with its milky eyes, tilting its head to let out another “rawk” before flying off into the woods.

Alleria felt a pull. She couldn’t explain it any more than she could ignore it. Slowly, step by cautious step, she followed the raven. The forest was darker here, the air more foreboding. The power flickered beneath her skin, urging her to retreat into its embrace. So she stopped. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and waited.

She wasn’t sure what it was she was waiting for. It certainly wasn’t the arrow that whizzed by her ear, burying itself in the ground just behind her. Alleria’s ear flicked at the sudden rush of air and she dropped into a defensive stance. “I see that death has not diminished your aim, Sylvanas,” she called into the trees. Her ears moved constantly, trying to determine Sylvanas’ location.

“How rude,” the Banshees voice seemed to come from all around Alleria, “I missed.”

The seriousness in the echoed tone of her sisters' voice caused Allerias blood to run cold. Still, she stood taller as she spoke again, “is that really how you greet your sister after all these years? Hiding in the shadows, like a coward?”

“A coward?” Sylvanas huffed, “no, I am no coward. Nor am I hiding. I am merely assessing the situation, just like you taught me,” a sneer was evident in her voice. “An Alliance affiliate comes waltzing onto my land, searching for me. Do you know how many would be assassins I’ve had to cut down? You wouldn’t be the first, nor the last.”

Alleria’s ears pinned back and she reached for her bow, only to grasp at nothing. “Damn it,” she hissed. In her rush, she had left it in Dalaran.

‘The Beast will slay you and yours. Cut her down! Kill her! KILL HER!’

Sylvanas merely laughed at her distress, “are you afraid of me, Lady Sun?” A pause, “oh, no I don’t believe that name suits you anymore does it. Not when you have become a vessel for the Void.” Crimson eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness, “oh yes, I know all about your little affliction.”

“Enough with your games, Sylvanas,” Alleria ground out, “I am not here as Alliance. I come to you as a sister. Nothing more.”

Sylvanas let out a drawn-out sigh, “very well. You always did know how to take the fun out of things.” She dropped down out of the tree she had been lounging in, drawing herself up and glare at Alleria. “Happy now, dear sister?”

No, Alleria was not happy. She didn’t know what she had expected to greet her when she finally saw her sister again. A spirit? A shambling corpse? Some horrific monstrosity? Perhaps. What she had not been expecting was for Sylvanas to look, more or less, the same as she had when she was alive.

She swallowed hard, concentrated on blocking out the Whispers as she met Sylvanas’ burning stare, “you look well.”

“I look well?” Sylvanas repeated slowly looking herself over, “I see you still have a way with words. Cut to it, what do you want? The Horde isn’t going to lead itself.”

Alleria bristled, the Void pressing out against her skin. “That is precisely why I am here. The Horde.” Anger flared up in her, white-hot and seething, “how could you join the Horde, let alone lead those monsters? After everything they did? The atrocities they’ve committed?”

Sylvanas blinked before narrowing her eyes. “Of all the doors I knocked on after I died, searching for refuge, the Horde was the only one that answered. Our people would not allow the Undead into their home again so soon, and the humans would sooner have seen us all burn just for existing,” Sylvanas bared her fangs for but a moment before she slipped back into her composure, “can you honestly tell me that you would sooner choose death over siding with an old enemy?”

“Yes,” Alleria snapped. The Void licked up from her skin, slinking it’s way up her arms. “There is nothing that would have ever made me join the Horde. Not after everything they did to our people. To our family! I would sooner have chosen death!”

Slowly, Sylvanas’ lips curled into a grin, “and there it is. You would choose, and selfishly at that. Just as you always have.” She leaned her bowed against a tree and stalked around her sister slowly. “You chose not to be Ranger-General. You chose to go galavanting around the kingdom. You chose to go on your one woman revenge spree, leaving me to try and pick up the pieces alone! It was your choice to plunge into that portal! You took the bow! You willingly embraced the Void. You abandoned us all!” With every statement, Sylvanas grew angrier. Shadows steamed from her in wispy tendrils as she struggled to keep her form.

Alleria snarled, “I left for our family! To make those monsters pay for what they did to him!”

“YOU ABANDONED YOUR FAMILY!” Sylvanas roared as she dropped all attempts to control herself. Shedding her corporeal form, Sylvanas advanced as a specter, driving Alleria back even as the Void rushed to protect her. “You dove through that portal in the name of those who could no longer hear you! You left me to console our sister alone! To care for YOUR child! To be the sole defender of our people while they called for their hero!” Sylvanas didn’t flinch when a tendril of Void energy lashed at her when she got to close. Her eyes burned with the intensity of an inferno, “you abandoned me!”

_ ‘Kill her! KILL HER! KILLHERKILLHERKILLHER!’ _

Alleria stood stock still, her breath fogging up the air before her as a deep cold emanated from the banshee. The Void was afraid, terrified even, of what was before her. This creature was what she had imagined. A beast, ready and willing to kill her. And yet, Sylvanas merely drifted there, inches from her face, seething with rage.

At that moment, she had the answer she was looking for. Jaded and cruel as she now was, this creature was still her little sister.

She took a breath to calm herself, pulling the Void back in, letting it twist back down beneath her skin. “You have every right to hate me,” Alleria smiled slightly at the shocked expression on the banshees face, “I’d hate me too if our situations were reversed. But I can’t change what happened, no more than I can forgive you for joining the Horde.”

Sylvanas looked away as her body reformed. “I don’t hate you. I never did. You and Vereesa are the two people I could never bring myself to hate. No matter how hard I tried. And,” she paused, glaring back at Alleria, “I tried.” Turning in her heel, Sylvanas paced back to one of the trees, leaning against it heavily, “the Horde I joined was not the same as the one that ravaged our home. It was more a cluster of refugees, people with nowhere else to go. And it’s changed more over time.” She turned to face Alleria again, “and now that I am Warchief, it will change to be what I wish it to be.”

“And what is that?” Alleria forced her voice to stay level.

“Strong,” came her simple answer, “no longer will we be pushed around by the Alliance. The Wrynn cub will find that my Horde will not be strong-armed into anything that does not benefit it. All peoples will be equal under the protection of the Dark Lady.” Her ears flicked back as her eyes narrowed, “it is a protection that I would extend to you and yours, but I know what that offer will bring and I will not be betrayed again.”

Alleria watched as Sylvanas picked up her bow and began to walk back into the trees. “Wait! Sylvanas!” She reached out and grabbed her arm.

Sylvanas froze, her body tensing. “You are very lucky that we are family, for what that’s worth. In most kingdoms, it is a crime to touch a queen.” She jerked her arm free, “consider yourself lucky that it was I who found you bumbling around my forest. My rangers would not have missed. I suggest you don’t come back unless you bring me something worth my time.” As she walked, the shadows of the trees seemed to embrace her, “Goodbye, Lady Sun.”

Alleria let her arm fall loosely to her side as she stared at the part in the trees where Sylvanas had vanished, “until we meet again, Lady Moon.”

 


End file.
